Captured
by Polarissb
Summary: All Sara wanted was to see her children evolve, grow into strong eons, and start their own families. That's unlikely to happen now that she and her flareon mate have been captured. Now it's a matter of surviving endless tests, because all Catchers want is strong pokemon. Sara was never strong before, but if there's one thing eons are good at, it's adapting.
1. Part 1

_**Concurrent with Tyler's Search: Prologue**_

 _Note: TS: Sara is a companion story to Tyler's Search, and most of the story happens there. I'll occasionally add parts to this as Tyler's story progresses, but it probably won't be more than six or seven total.  
_

Sara blinked awake, feeling her mate Luke brush against her fur as he rose. He bent down, and they rubbed faces lovingly before he continued out of the den for his morning patrol. Neither of them said a word, not wanting to wake their children, but a touch was enough.

Sometimes Sara would go back to sleep after her mate left the den, but she didn't feel tired this morning, so she simply lay there and thought. Winter was well and truly over; the last snows had melted over a week before, and the days were warming. Sara loved the spring, loved stretching her leaves and feeling the sunlight flowing into her. A Leafeon, Sara was almost as much plant as animal. Her ears and tail were leaves; another grew from her head. Her fur had a greenish tint to it, and absorbed sunlight as well as her leaves did. She could plant her paws too, absorbing nutrients and water from the soil. Though she didn't particularly like to, Sara could easily survive without eating or drinking if necessary.

Her thoughts drifting back to the present, Sara turned to look at her children, still sleeping, curled into balls in the back of the den. Though they looked nearly identical like that, Sara knew where each liked to sleep. As she watched them, slumbering peacefully, she marveled again how they could all be so different. It seemed as if they had sectioned off the whole range of personality and each taken a slice. Carson had immediately taken after Luke, wanting to slip into his place and protect everyone, while Kara was more like her, quiet and reserved. Kara spoke little, but watched everything. She turned to her second litter. Tyler and Skylar were born brothers, inseparable, but they couldn't be more different. Skylar was headstrong and bold, always being the first to charge in and try something new. He was the fastest of his siblings and took a child's pride in it, dead set on becoming a lightning-fast Jolteon.

Tyler, on the other hand, was more careful. Not that he had ever been one to back down, but he liked to size things up before jumping in headlong – sometimes literally. Sara smiled, thinking of the number of times she had heard a shout of surprise, turning to find Tyler standing a few feet back from a snapped branch or streambank – and Skylar laid out flat beneath it. Skylar was always the first to lead the way, but Tyler seemed to take charge once things didn't turn out as planned, and Skylar, pride and eagerness sufficiently dampened by that point, would usually follow.

That left Sasha, her youngest. Sasha had been born alone, a rarity, and like her siblings she had taken her own unique piece of the personality spectrum. Sasha was always bright and perky, with a stubborn streak a mile long. She wanted to be involved in everything and was always excited to talk about something she had just seen or done. Her biggest secret was what she wanted to evolve into, but knowing her, Sara wondered how long it would be until she couldn't stand it anymore and told everyone.

Evolution. They all had to be thinking about it. Skylar was the only one who had openly declared what he wanted to be, but, being the pivotal moment in a young Eevee's life, it had to weigh on their minds as it had once weighed on hers. Carson, aggressive, protective, and strong, would probably become a Flareon like Luke, whom he idolized. Kara, quiet and reserved, seemed apt to become an Umbreon, Glaceon, or – Sara thought a little wistfully – perhaps a Leafeon like herself. About Skylar, there was no question in anyone's mind – least of all his. Sasha, too, had her mind made up, and though she never said, Sara suspected she would evolve into an Espeon. That left Tyler. Of all her children, he seemed the most worried about evolution; true to form, he worried about the decision likely even more than he would admit. Sara wasn't worried about him. She could see him as Vaporeon, Umbreon, Leafeon, or even Glaceon. Any of those would suit his personality better than he could understand now.

Looking over her children, curled up and sleeping peacefully, Sara was struck again by how blessed she and Luke were to have such a vibrant family. She worried sometimes that something would happen to them, but it comforted her to know that they would have each other to rely on – and a diverse group of Eons made a formidable team indeed.

Her pondering was interrupted as a ray of sun that had been creeping into the den finally reached Tyler, who yawned and stretched, blinking at the new day. His movement woke the others, and the den was quickly filled with small sounds as her children shook themselves awake. Skylar and Sasha, as usual, were the first ones up, full of energy and already looking ready to run outside. Carson rose more slowly, while Kara, as she usually did, lifted her head but lay serene for a few moments, waiting for the last vestiges of sleep to disperse. Tyler stayed where he was as well, staring into space – so early in the morning and already lost in thought, Sara thought with a flicker of amusement. Well, no more than she had been. Reminded of the time, she thought back to when Luke had left. Each morning and most nights, he went out, tracing a wide circle around their den, constantly watching for anything that might signal danger. He ought to be back right about now.

A few moments later, in fact, Sara's sensitive ears picked up Luke's returning footfalls, and a few moments after that he appeared in the mouth of the den, a bunch of berries in his mouth. Their children immediately crowded around him, hungry as ever. Once they had all picked out the 'juiciest' berries for themselves and settled down to eat, Sara picked her way over to her mate, brushing against his flank. He seemed relaxed, so Sara simply asked, "All quiet out there?"

"All quiet," he confirmed. "It's going to be a beautiful day." He bent down and snagged several berries from the small pile that remained, offering them to her. She accepted with a smile, and they crouched down together to eat.

Before she was half done, Skylar came bounding up. "Can we go out now?" he asked.

"Wash the berry juice off your face first," Sara answered. Skylar usually ate, as he did everything else, at a breakneck pace, and tended to make a mess of himself in the mornings.

"You didn't even look!" Skylar complained.

"I don't have to," she said, suppressing a smile. "I'm your mother. I know you."

"C'mon!" Skylar complained again. Sara finally looked up from eating. Skylar's face was stained blue with berry juice.

"Wash your face," she repeated, going back to her meal. Defeated, Skylar sat and started licking a paw, scrubbing at the juice stains.

After they had all finished eating and cleaned up (Skylar wasn't the only one who had gotten juice on himself) Luke took their children out to play in the clearing, while Sara went to tend her berry bushes. There were six dotted around the forest near their den, and Sara always made sure they were strong, healthy, and productive. Other Pokémon came to forage at her bushes too, but Sara didn't mind. They all shared the forest, and if you took one part out the rest would be diminished. Sara could sense the state of each plant and knew instinctively how to help each one grow. Two needed water; another had a dying branch that needed to be cleared away. With each bush she visited, she planted a paw briefly, linking to its roots and infusing some of her own energy into the plant so it would produce plenty of fruit. If only raising children were so easy, she thought ruefully. An innate sense of what _they_ needed would be something.

Once she had tended to all of the bushes, Sara returned to the clearing. Luke saw her before her children did, and she heard him call out, "Mother's back. Are you ready for training?"

Luke had always been the protector of the family. Sara knew that his nightmares, when he had them, were of her or the children in danger and not being able to help them. The Flareon patrolled a wide area around their den morning and night, ever vigilant for anything that might threaten his family. He insisted on taking some time most days to train their little ones to fight, arguing that they needed to be ready to take care of themselves. Sara herself didn't like to fight much, but she knew there was wisdom in her mate's words, and she would join in the training herself. At her own insistence, they never matched their children against each other – always against their parents. Sara didn't want to teach any of her children to fight one another, and besides, she had argued, if they were going to train, they needed to get used to fighting bigger, stronger opponents, using their agility and sharpening their minds to match.

That morning, Luke announced that he would be dividing them into pairs to practice teamwork. He usually set up the trainings, and Sara was content to participate. She did like seeing her children working together, even if she would be their opponent. Luke had sometimes criticized her about going easy on her children, but they both knew it was without conviction. That was just how mothers were.

Kara and Sasha were the first to face her. As they got ready for the training, Luke gave his sons a last word of advice, telling them to split up and work to get him off balance first. Impetuous as always, Skylar replied, "I can knock Mother over!" Sara smiled to herself. _If only he knew…_ Given a moment to brace herself, she could take a stronger blow without losing her footing than even Luke, who was a far more experienced fighter than she was. As she turned back to her daughters, she hoped they had been listening to Luke's words. Kara probably had, at least. With Sasha, it was anyone's guess. Luke turned to catch her eye, confirming that she was ready. With that, she turned to her daughters. "Let's go."

As soon as they started, Sasha charged. Sara easily sidestepped the Eevee, noting wryly that to her right, Skylar had just charged as well. Luke took Skylar head-on, knocking him back with enough time to turn and cuff Tyler into the grass as well. She shook her head and almost regretted it as Kara, who had been quietly stealing around to the side, chose that moment to make her own move, dashing in and leaping onto Sara's back. "You shouldn't get distracted, Mother!" Rather than answer or shake her off, Sara simply rolled over so that her weight was now smothering her daughter. Kara was a capable fighter and thought tactically, but it seemed that all of her children had missed the point of the exercise, if Luke's remonstrations to their sons were anything to go by.

Or had they? As Kara struggled to pull herself out from under her mother, Sasha came dashing in, aiming at Sara's head, which was now on the ground. She barely rolled to her feet in time to dodge. Back on her feet, she aimed a swipe at Sasha, who nimbly leaped back, and then they were all still again, Sara's eyes darting back and forth between her daughters as they sized each other up. Kara, again, started moving around her side, forcing Sara to watch both directions at once or have one of her daughters get behind her. For the moment, though, Kara and Sasha were both hanging back, which meant that her speed would give her an advantage if she attacked first, closing the distance to one of her daughters and leaving the other behind.

Her mind made up, Sara suddenly turned and sprinted at Sasha, who let out a little squeak of surprise. Keeping her head, though, Sasha dodged to one side, then, as Sara moved to follow, she changed direction, avoiding her mother and nearly causing Sara to trip. As she turned to follow, Sasha kept running in a circle. Kara was running in as well, only a few steps away now. As Kara leaped for her, Sara crouched underneath the jump, leaving Kara to hit her shoulders. Sara was about to follow up the move by surging up again and throwing her daughter off when Sasha, who had reversed direction again, pounced on her lowered head. She fell in a heap.

Her face inches from Sara's and her paws wrapped around her mother's neck, Sasha announced, "We got you, Mother!" The look of wide-eyed glee on her face, so close, made Sara burst out laughing. Encouraged, Sasha turned and pounced again, this time on Sara's shoulders. Sara turned, playfully sweeping her daughters up and hugging them to herself so they couldn't move. "Aaaaaaaa! Help!" Sasha squealed. Kara didn't say anything, but Sara could feel her daughter's body shaking with silent laughter.

A shadow fell over them. "Well, this looks serious." It was Luke, standing there with a smile on his face. Skylar and Tyler were right behind him, giggling at their sisters' predicament.

Sara looked up at her mate, unabashed. "They did very well."

"Ready to switch?" Luke, as he usually did, asked this question of no one in particular, and her children, knowing what to expect by now, all nodded. Sara did too; Kara and Sasha had handled themselves well.

Luke nodded as well. "All right. I want Carson and Sasha with me this time." Turning, he called, "Carson! Your turn." He turned and trotted back to a clear spot. Sasha wriggled out of Sara's grasp and bounded after him.

Rising and turning to her other three children, Sara thought for a moment. "Let's have Kara and… Tyler." They nodded and moved back. Skylar trotted to the edge of the training area and flopped on the ground to watch.

As the training progressed, Sara decided she was proud of the progress her children were making. They all worked pretty well together, although there were definite preferences. Carson and Kara, being littermates, worked particularly well together. Likewise, Tyler and Skyler preferred to fight side by side, and once Skylar got in control of his impulsiveness, they could pull off coordinated strings of attacks with amazing precision. It was almost as if they read each other's minds. The third pairing was something of a surprise: Kara and Sasha. Kara made every move carefully, always thinking tactics. Sasha didn't seem to know any tactics beyond dodge and attack, but she was quick and had a knack for sensing opportunities to strike. Kara, aware of this, would adjust her strategy to give her sister as many opportunities as possible, and Sasha invariably took advantage with surprising effectiveness.

After training for a while, all of their children were starting to get tired. Sara was breathing hard herself, and she could see that Luke was as well. He called a halt, and Sara and her mate led their children to the stream so they could all drink. Afterward, they returned to the clearing. It was too nice a day to waste, so they let the children play for a while, while they rested. Not surprisingly, the young Eevee, still worn out from training, came back after just a few minutes and lay down in the shade next to Luke.

Sara stayed in the light, stretching her body and her leaves as far as she could to take in as much sun as possible she lay on her side. She closed her eyes and smiled, basking in the sun's rays and feeling their energy flow into her. Before she left her home to join Luke, she and her own mother, who was an Espeon and had her own connection to sunlight, had often gone out to lay in the sun together and talk. She had enjoyed those times, and Mother had been delighted that one of her children had grown to enjoy the feeling of sun streaming into her like she did. It had made their relationship that much stronger.

Looking over her own children, now chatting happily among themselves, Sara was struck with a wave of pride at how strong they had all become. They couldn't compete with their parents right now, not really, but that was mostly a matter of size and power – not that Sara ever used her special abilities in their training matches. They had developed their skills a lot, though – moving, dodging, judging when the time was right to strike, and never letting their guards down when they were facing her or Luke. Soon, they would be ready to learn about energy, the power that was inside all Pokémon, that set them apart from every other living thing. Carson and Kara might be ready now. It was one of the final steps before evolution, because the same energy that fueled their powers would one day be the key to unlocking their birthright as Eevee. There were risks as well – overusing and exhausting their power could slow their growth and set back their evolution by months – but she and Luke would be there to guide them and prevent that from happening.

As she thought, Sara listened with one ear to her children. Skylar and Sara were now vying for attention, talking about how well they'd done in training. Sara loved to hear their enthusiasm. Then the conversation shifted gears, with Carson asking Luke when they would be ready to evolve. Luke didn't seem to have a ready response, so Sara stepped in. "For most young Eevee, it's when you're about two years old. That's not too far away for you now. As for how you'll know when that is… You'll be able to feel it."

That immediately got everyone's attention, and the young Eevee started clamoring to know how they would feel it. Luke responded, "It's kind of hard to explain, but you can feel something building up inside of you. Eventually, you start to feel… almost like you'll burst out of your skin. Yes, that's it. That's when you're ready to change."

 _Burst out of your skin? Really?_ Sara fixed her mate with a sharp look, just as Sasha exclaimed, "That sounds like it hurts!"

"Don't worry," Sara answered, still glaring at Luke. _See?_ "It can be a little uncomfortable, but it doesn't hurt."

"What does it feel like when you change?" Sasha asked.

Sara had evolved into a Leafeon several years before, and the question took her back, springs, summers, and winters blurring back to when she was an Eevee herself, traveling with her own mother, an Espeon, to a large, moss-covered rock that looked older than the forest itself…

 _At her mother's instruction, Sara had slept on the rock that night, and when morning came and the first rays of sun hit her, the energy that had been flowing, then rushing through her for weeks suddenly burst out, surging through her body with a new force. The trees surrounding the rock turned white, highlighted by a glow the young Eevee had realized with a start was coming from herself. She could feel her legs lengthen and grow strong; green tinted her vision, along with other changes too numerous to comprehend. When the light died away, the first thing she noticed was a feeling that seemed to have awoken in the back of her mind. The forest, always so lush and green, now felt alive. She could sense the trees, tall, strong, and ageless; the grasses and small plants that carpeted the ground, and the moss she lay on, clinging to the rock like a living skin. Sara took a deep breath, looking down and catching sight of her mother, who sat at the base of the nearest tree, beaming with pride. She leapt from the rock to the ground, a height that no longer seemed as daunting as it had the night before, and walked over, noticing as she did so that there were tears in Mother's lavender eyes._

 _"Is something wrong?" Sara had asked, suddenly worried._

 _Mother smiled gently. "No, Sara. You're just so beautiful, and I couldn't be more proud of you. You'll understand one day. How do you feel?"_

 _Sara looked up at the sky and the forest before answering. "It's amazing! I can feel… so much. There's so much life here, I never… I never knew."_

Luke had just finished speaking, and Sara took a deep breath, pondering how best to express herself. "Everything you felt building up inside, suddenly comes bursting out. It runs all through you, and when it stops… you're different." Words suddenly didn't seem adequate, and Sara found herself stumbling.

Carson, who was taking this all very seriously, asked, "What's it like, suddenly being different?"

Again, Sara struggled to describe her feelings. "It's strange at first… but it's not like you aren't you anymore." _How do I explain this?_ "It seems more like…" She trailed off, and this time Luke came to her rescue.

"Like part of you woke up that you never knew was there," he added quietly.

Sara looked at him again, this time gratefully. "Yes. That's it."

Her children took a while to digest all of this. Then Tyler broke the silence. "How did you and Father know what you wanted to become?"

Sara looked at him for a moment, considering. Tyler always came back to that. He was so concerned about what his own evolution should be; it almost broke her heart sometimes to see how worried he became whenever the subject came up.

It wasn't the first time she had answered the question, so she said again, "I always loved plants, even from a very young age. As soon as I felt the change coming, I knew where I needed to go – to one of the moss stones." She knew he was looking for something different, some part of his personality that would tell him what to be. Truthfully, what Sara thought he needed was to stop looking for something to _tell_ him what to be and make his own choice. When the day came and he evolved, he would find that being "wrong" wasn't nearly as important as he thought it was. Sara sighed. " _You'll understand one day."_ Those had been her mother's words to her, and now they applied to her children. None of them could understand yet what was in store for them.

"For me, it was a bit different. I wanted to be strong and ready to protect my family and friends. I wanted to be able to keep enemies away." When Luke had made his decision, he had been motivated by strength, and had chosen a legacy of flame. For him, it hadn't been about what he wanted to be, but about who he already was. It was another lesson she wished her children could understand.

Now the conversation turned to what they would do once they had made their decision, and Luke explained to their children that they would accompany each of them alone to find the stone or place that would trigger the evolution into the form they had chosen. Luke would take Carson, then Skylar and Tyler, and Sara would take their daughters, Kara and Sasha, as Eons had been doing with their young for generations.

The conversation trailed off then, and as the seriousness faded from the air, their children scampered up again, their energy and enthusiasm restored by the rest, and started playing, hiding behind trees and trying to sneak up on each other, leaving Sara and Luke a rare moment alone together. He stood, walking into the sun, and lay down facing her. "Sorry about that," he said, and it took Sara a moment to realize he was referring to her annoyance at his earlier comment about bursting.

"It's all right," Sara answered. She couldn't stay angry at him, and anyway, it hadn't been anything serious. "You made up for it."

He flashed her a warm smile. "Thanks."

She turned her gaze to their children, now launching themselves on top of one another in a confusion of brown fur. "They're getting more interested in evolution all the time. I think it's time to teach Carson and Kara about energy."

Luke nodded thoughtfully. "I think so too. They're growing up fast." He looked at her. "When should we start?"

"Today. It's still early afternoon, and we do have the rest of the day."

Slowly, Luke nodded again. Sara wasn't surprised; it was a little sudden. Then his ears pricked up. Rather than ask him what it was, she took a moment to listen herself. There it was: a faint sound. It might have been a scuffle. "I'm going to check it out," Luke announced. "It's probably nothing, but…" He stretched out his neck and touched noses with her. "I'll be right back."

Luke got to his paws and started moving at a fast pace, but not a run. He didn't head straight for the noise, either, instead tracing out an arc that would let him come from the side. Kara had definitely inherited his tactical way of approaching things. Sara watched him until he vanished into the trees; soon she couldn't hear him either.

Some of her children watched him go, then turned to her. "It's all right," she soothed. "Father heard something out in the woods, so he's just going to make sure everything's all right. He'll be back in a few minutes." Satisfied, they went back to playing. Sara didn't say it, but she worried a little for Luke every time he left, even though she knew that there was very little in the area that could really threaten him, even Catchers.

She didn't have long to wait. After a few minutes, Luke came trotting out of the forest again, and she relaxed. As he reached her, Sara asked, "Anything?"

"Nothing much. Just a couple of Spearow squabbling over something or other." He raised his voice a little as he said this, so their children, who almost certainly wanted to know what was going on, could hear. Turning to her again, Luke asked, "Are you ready for this?"

Sara nodded. She considered standing up for a moment, but she didn't want anyone to worry about being in trouble, so she sat instead. "Carson, Kara," she called, "Could you come over here?"

Looking a little confused, the two Eevee split off from their siblings and came over to sit in front of their parents. "Is everything all right?" Carson asked.

"Yes, you're fine," Sara reassured them. She looked over at Luke, wondering who should begin, and he looked right back at her. _You started this_. She nodded and cleared her throat. "You two are the oldest, and we decided it's time for you to learn something."

"Is this about evolution?" Kara asked.

Luke nodded. "There's something you need to learn about first. That feeling we were talking about earlier, it's has more to do with than just evolution, and you need to know about it to be ready. It's something called energy."

The Eevee looked at each other. "What's energy?"

Sara answered. "It's a special power. More than a power, though. All Pokémon have it; it's what makes us different."

Carson looked confused. "What do you mean, different?"

"Well, have you ever wondered why there are normal bugs and bug Pokémon?" Luke asked. Kara nodded, and after a moment, Carson did too. "Energy is something inside us. It makes us what we are, stronger and smarter than normal animals. We can think, and we can talk and understand each other. Sometimes it gives us special powers. It's something all Pokémon share, more or less."

"So then, that's how you can breathe fire and Mother can make plants grow," Kara surmised.

"Yes," replied Sara in turn. "Although there are a few things you can do with it as Eevee too. You can use it to enhance your speed and strength. With practice, you can even shield yourselves from attacks."

"Now that you're old enough," her mate added, "we're going to teach you how to use it. It's something you should know before we make the trip to evolve." He looked at them. "Any questions?"

"When do we start?" Carson asked.

Luke chuckled. "We'll take some time to train you two tomorrow."

Kara was looking down as she often did while thinking. "What is it, Kara?" Sara prodded.

"Well… I was just wondering… why haven't you told us any of this before?"

Luke nodded. "It's a good question," he said. "The reason is, if you try to use energy before you're ready, it can cause problems, even keep you from being able to evolve for months – or years. We didn't want anyone trying to experiment." He fixed them both with a look. "So we're also asking you not to mention this to your brothers and sister. We'll tell them when they get old enough."

They both nodded solemnly, and Luke reached out a fatherly paw to ruffle their fur. "That's all for now. We'll start your training tomorrow."

Carson and Kara walked away, but didn't join their siblings. Instead, they sat down a short distance away, talking. Sara wasn't surprised. It was a lot to take in. Carson and Kara were also both inclined to take things seriously. Another thought occurred to her, and she shuddered a little.

Luke was instantly alert. "Are you all right?" he asked solicitously.

Sara nodded seriously. "Watching them go off and discuss things so seriously makes me wonder… what would have happened if Sasha were the oldest?"

He stared at her for a moment, uncomprehending, then suddenly burst out laughing. "I think if she tried to keep something like this quiet, she'd explode."

Once they had both stopped laughing, Sara drew a little closer to her mate, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad things turned out the way they did." Luke nodded and took a deep, slow breath, then sighed contentedly, eyes on their children. He turned and pressed his head against hers. "I'm glad too."

They stayed like that for a few minutes. Sara wished it could be all day, but soon Tyler, Skylar, and Sasha came running up, hungry and thirsty. Overhearing, Kara and Carson got up from where they had been conversing and joined them, and so they all went down to the stream. After her children had finished drinking and splashing in the water, Sara led the way to one of her bushes so they could all eat.

When they had finished, Sara and Luke let the five young Eevee play in the clearing again until the sun was low in the sky. Luke turned to Sara. "I'm going to patrol around again before it gets dark. Do you mind handling things here?"

Sara agreed, and Luke turned and trotted back out into the forest. She called her children over. "The day's almost over. It's time to get ready to sleep." They all protested loudly, as they did almost every night, but did as she said. Once they had all returned to the den, Sara took the time to wash each one of them, straightening their fur and pulling out grass and tangles. Sasha asked if she ever had to wash Father like this, making her chuckle. "Not very often," she answered, looking her daughter in the eye. Sasha found this hilarious.

By the time Sara had finished with all of her children, Luke had appeared from the trees at the other side if the clearing and was padding across to the den in the fading light. Sara could tell from his relaxed manner that he hadn't found anything new, but she stood at the entrance, waiting for him to arrive. He came into the den, brushed against her flank for a moment, then crossed to where their five children sat, waiting for him. Luke went up to each one and nuzzled them affectionately. "Everything's safe tonight. See you in the morning."

He turned back, and Sara lay down with her mate, resting her head on the Flareon's warm flank. By now, their children had been still and quiet long enough to realize they were tired, and one by one, they curled up, tail over nose.

A minute later, Carson spoke up again. "You know, what we were talking about earlier today? About being ready?"

Sara pricked an ear up as Kara responded to her brother. "Yes."

He continued. "I think I'm beginning to feel something. Just a little." Sara's heart leapt. She had been right – the two of them _were_ ready. One day soon, Luke would take Carson to evolve. Soon after, she would have the privilege of traveling alone with her daughter and of watching her shed her small form and inherit the power that was hers by birth, as Sara's mother had long ago.

Beneath her, Luke's heartbeat had quickened, but all he said was, "When did it start?"

"It started a few days ago. I didn't know what it was."

Luke nodded, though it was impossible for anyone but her to tell in the dark. "Well, it sounds like we'll be making a trip in a month or so. Now, sleep well."

There was a murmur of agreement, and the sounds of breathing calmed and fell into a slow rhythm as the young Eevee fell asleep. For Sara, her mind spinning with thoughts of what the future held, sleep took longer to come, but eventually she was able to quiet her mind and relax, drifting off peacefully as stars appeared in the sky.


	2. Part 2

**_Concurrent with Tyler's Search Chapter 2_**

Luke was nudging her with his nose. Sara came awake reluctantly, blinking. "I'm headed out," he breathed in her ear. "I don't know why – something feels off this morning."

It took a second for the words to register, but Sara nodded, forcing herself to focus for a moment. She felt uneasy too, but she still wasn't quite awake. "Be safe," she answered softly. Luke nodded, touched his nose to her again, and headed out the mouth of the den. Still drowsy, Sara drifted off to sleep again, a vague unease still tugging at the edges of her mind.

It was a sound that woke her next, a shimmering noise like a sudden wind. Sara's mind ground slowly into motion again as she looked around for its source. She had heard it before, but couldn't quite place it. The sound repeated again and again, sometimes further or nearer. It didn't sound like any Pokémon she had ever heard, but…

Then it struck her. It was a Catcher noise. The sound of the balls they used to trap Pokémon. Her lingering drowsiness shattered, and Sara rolled onto her paws, heart starting to speed up. Instinctively, Sara looked into the corner of her den where her children lay. Five young Eevee still slept there, unaware of what was going on. She sighed quietly. Her children were still safe. She needed to keep it that way.

Moving on silent paws to the mouth of the den, still partially shielded by a bush, Sara looked out across the clearing. The sun was just coming into view, and what she saw sickened her. There were Catchers in the woods – more than she had ever seen in one place before. They had many Pokémon out, too – all large, dark, and fierce-looking. Predators. These Catchers were hunting. As she watched, an Ekans slipped into the den of a Sentret who lived across the clearing. There were sounds of a scuffle, then the Ekans appeared again, wriggling backwards and dragging the Sentret out by the tail. The unfortunate Pokémon disappeared into a ball. Two Rattata came bursting out of another hole and were instantly set upon by a Nidoking. One got away, tearing into the bushes, but the Nidoking brutally hammered the other into the ground with an armored fist, and a Catcher in dark colors came running up with another ball, capturing the stunned Rattata as Sara looked on in shock. This wasn't how Catchers acted. Sara had been around long enough to know that Catchers were almost always doing one of two things. Sometimes they would come looking for a certain Pokémon they wanted to catch. More often, they just wanted to fight and make their Pokémon stronger. These dark Catchers, though, were simply mowing through the forest, mercilessly, indiscriminately catching everything they could find.

A bolt of fear shot through her as she realized it was too late to run. It would take far too long to wake her Eevee children and herd them away, and in any case, Catchers were already in the clearing. Arbok and Ekans were slithering around, finding holes; Golbat, Crobat, Murkrow, and Honchkrow attacked escaping Pidgey and Spearow above the trees, and armored Rhyhorn and Nidoking waited in the open. A small army had been turned out to hunt down the forest-dwelling Pokémon. Her family would never get away without being attacked.

To the side, Sara saw an Arbok turning toward where their den was hidden, its forked tongue flickering in and out as it hissed and tasted the air, seeking prey. Only slightly exposed, Sara slowly backed into her den in the hope that it wouldn't have seen her yet. Danger had sharpened her senses, and behind her she heard soft stirring sounds as the young Eevee started to wake up. She crouched, tense, in the mouth of the den, praying that the Arbok wouldn't find them. To her horror, at that moment she heard Sandra's small voice ask, "What's going –"

Sara instantly responded, cutting her daughter off more harshly than she had intended in her fear. "Quiet. Don't make a sound." The damage was already done, though; the Arbok was now slithering purposefully toward the den. It appeared, still hissing, in her field of view, though thankfully still on the other side of the bush. It hadn't seen them yet. Its shadow blocked out the dappled sunlight that played across the back of the den, and Sara heard a startled gasp behind her. _No!_ The Arbok froze, going silent, and then its head turned toward them. Letting out a threatening hiss, it slithered around the side of the bush to get inside their den – to get at her children. _I'm not going to let you have them, monster._ As it rounded the bush and saw Sara standing ready in the entrance, the Arbok hesitated. That hesitation was all Sara, already on edge and tensed to attack, needed. She sprang, catching the Arbok stretched full-out where it couldn't strike at her and knocking it away from her den and her children. The move carried both of them out of the den and into the clearing.

Sara's heart sank as she heard a Catcher's shout. She knew that she was now their focus, all because she was different from all the Pidgey, Rattata, Teddiursa, Pikachu, and Marill. _If the Catchers realize I'm guarding a den with five Eevee in it… they'll swarm us. Everything is going wrong,_ she thought. _Today we were going to train Carson and Kara… it was going to be a happy day. Now everyone is in danger. I can't lead the Catchers away from here, and I can't get my children away either. All I can do now is_ fight _for them._ At the Catcher's shout, the Nidoking and a Rhyhorn had turned away from what they were doing to join the Arbok in front of her. Three against one. Sara's heart sank further. Luke was out there somewhere. He had been patrolling the area. Had he already found the Catchers? Had he been captured? She hoped not. _Please, let him make it here soon._

As she squared off against her three adversaries, Sara's mind was racing. If she showed any fear, they would all attack. Worse, they might realize what was in her den. So she stood defiant, a low growl building in the back of her throat. The three Pokémon started closing in, and she focused, small, sharp edges growing and splitting off of her leaves. Whipping her head down, she sent her attack spraying at them. It didn't do very much to her armored opponents, but it hurt the Arbok and made all three flinch back for a moment.

At another shout from the Catcher, the Nidoking broke into a charge, building up speed to ram her. Sara met the charge head on, rooting herself into the ground. The Nidoking barreled into her, ramming her slight frame at full speed. He might as well have tried to topple an oak. Sara was stronger than she looked, and nothing was going to move her, not with her children back there. Her legs flexed as she took the force of his charge, tensing her body and gritting her teeth, and when the Nidoking stopped, momentum spent, Sara surged back up, throwing her opponent off and back a few steps. It found its footing again, glaring at her, but didn't charge again. She looked around at her opponents, hissing out a warning: " _Stay back!_ "

They hesitated, but then there was another shout, and the two large Pokémon started lumbering forward. The Arbok turned, passing behind them and trying to circle around Sara's left to get at her den. _It saw my children,_ she thought in panic. Ignoring the others for a moment, Sara withdrew her paws from the ground, leaped back to keep the Arbok in front of her, and sent another spray of razor leaves at it. "Leave them alone!" she snarled, as threateningly as she could. Her desperate attack was too high, though, and as her opponent dropped down it missed completely. The Arbok took the opportunity to close in. Instinctively, Sara focused her power again, the leaves on her head and tail lengthening and sharpening for close-quarters combat. She had learned how to do it years ago, but until today Sara had never used any of her powers like this, against a living opponent. She had always trusted that Luke would be there to fight, if it were ever necessary; now Sara found herself wishing she had trained harder. She had just never thought her children's safety would depend on it. On her.

As the Arbok drew closer, Sara whirled, whipping her tail leaf around in a wide circle. Her tail was longer, and all she could think of was keeping the cobra Pokémon and its poison fangs at bay. She felt no resistance, though, and as she came back around to face her opponent, she saw that it had reared back into a striking position, far too close. Before Sara had even started to think of a follow-up move, the Arbok struck, sinking venomous fangs into her right foreleg. Choking back a scream of pain and fear, Sara slashed down in desperation, and her forehead leaf cut deeply into her opponent; its fangs came loose as the Arbok reeled back, hissing in pain. The damage was already done, though; the poison would weaken her until she couldn't do anything. Unless…

Spreading her leaves, Sara turned toward the sun, absorbing as much light as she could to try to drive the Arbok's poison out of her body. It was still low in the morning sky, though, and what filtered through the trees wasn't enough. Not nearly enough.

That was it, then, Sara thought. Whatever happened now, she wouldn't get away from the Catchers. She might not even be able to get her children away, and it broke her heart to think of them being taken. She wasn't afraid for herself anymore – only for them. Limping on her hurt leg, Sara positioned herself again directly in front of her den and waited, ready to strike out with bladed leaves, as her attackers closed in.

Then a shout came from behind her, "SARA!" and her heart leapt. _It's Luke. He's coming!_ Emotion welled up, relief and gratitude threatening to choke her, but she had to be strong; she couldn't break down here. With the three Pokémon still closing in, Sara risked a backward glance, and there Luke was, charging out of the trees and wreathed in flame. His paws left fires burning wherever they touched the ground as he pounded toward her in a dead run. She had known he would if there was any possible way for him to do so, but her breath still caught as she realized her mate had come for her.

Blazing past her, Luke rammed the Rhyhorn in an explosion that carried the armored Pokémon clear off its feet, sending it crashing into the Nidoking and stopping their charge again. Turning to the Arbok, he let loose a torrent of flame, forcing the snake Pokémon to back off or be roasted alive, then turned to sweep his fire across the ground, making a temporary barrier. In the brief respite, he looked back at their den, where the young Eevee still crouched in fear. With flame still coming out of his mouth with each breath, Luke shouted, "Go! Run! They're all around!"

Galvanized into action, their children started moving, leaving the den but still huddled together, unsure where to go. Luke turned to her and paused for a moment; Sara could see love and pain warring in his eyes like the flames that danced across his body. "Sara… get them away from here." His voice hardened. "I'll keep them from following you."

In that moment, Sara knew he wasn't coming back. Luke wasn't going to leave; he wasn't going to run, or try to lead the Catchers away. He would keep fighting in the clearing with every last spark and ember of power inside him, drawing as many of their pursuers to him as he could, until they finally succeeded in bringing him down. All in the hope that she and their children would escape. In her heart, Sara had known, perhaps ever since they became mates, that it would come to this. Luke never gave a halfhearted effort to anything, and now he was ready to sacrifice everything to keep his family safe. She loved him for that, even though it broke her heart. Sara held his gaze for a final, tender moment, then they both turned away, Luke howling out a battle cry, defiantly facing down the Catchers and all they could bring to bear on him, and Sara limping quickly into the forest, calling her children after her. She wouldn't let his sacrifice be in vain. As the trees closed behind them, Sara somehow held back the tears that came to her eyes. She would grieve later; right now she still had to protect her children.

Once the clearing was lost to view, Sara changed direction. One of her bushes could cure poison, and she angled toward it. If they could get there safely, she might have a chance. Without the poison sapping her strength, every passing minute would give Sara an advantage as the sun climbed higher, letting her heal herself even as the Catchers' Pokémon grew weary from searching, hunting, and fighting. She could already tell it wouldn't be easy, though; as she led her family from tree to tree and bush to bush, they saw Catchers everywhere, prowling through the woods and capturing Pokémon. She had to angle carefully around them, listening to find them before they saw her family.

Suddenly, she heard a pounding sound, far too close. A Nidoqueen crashed through the bushes, right into the middle of them. Her children scattered, but it snatched up Kara, who had been the closest, pressing Sara's daughter to its chest so she couldn't move. Sara was limping in to strike, but before she got close enough the Nidoqueen reversed direction and ran off into the bushes with its prize. Sara's daughter. Normally, she could have easily run a Nidoqueen down, but in her weakened state, Sara couldn't follow, and the knowledge agonized her. As she turned to her other children, now scattered into the bushes, Carson looked where it had gone, then back at her, and said, "I'm going after her."

Sara stared back in shock. "And what will you do?"

"I'll see if I can get her away from that thing. That's what you and Father always taught us to do."

Sara's pulse started to pound more quickly. She couldn't bear to lose anyone else today. "And if they catch you, too?"

"Then I'll be there to take care of her – wherever they're taking us," responded Carson, sounding more mature than she had ever heard him before. "It's what Father would do." Not waiting for a response, he took off in the Nidoqueen's direction, her shout of "Carson!" echoing uselessly after him.

 _No…_ Sara closed her eyes for a moment. Everything was going wrong. Her family was being torn apart. Breathing hard, trying to retain her composure, Sara turned to her three remaining children, determined to keep _them_ , at least, safe. "Come on. We _have_ to keep moving."

They pressed on, though now Sara's steps were becoming more and more labored. Still, she didn't stop. They were close to her bush now; just a little further and she would be able to turn things around. Her hopes were dashed as a female Catcher caught notice of them through the trees and pointed, calling out to her Pokémon. She couldn't outrun them in her current state. Even as the thought ran through her mind, the Catcher's Persian and Arbok appeared through the bushes. Instinctively, she screamed to her children, "Run!" The two enemy Pokémon quickly circled around, though, cutting off her family's escape. With a wave of sorrow, Sara realized that all she could do now was sacrifice herself as Luke had. They were in the open; there was no hollow or corner, no place she could defend, nowhere for her children to hide. The only chance they had was if Sara could keep their attention on her, and she knew she was in no position to win this fight. She was a little surprised to discover that it didn't matter to her any more. If her sacrifice could save Skylar, Tyler, and Sasha, she didn't care what the price would be for her.

Sara didn't know if she would even be able to do anything with the poison weakening her, but then she saw her one chance. The trees opened a little here, leaving a patch of sunlight far larger than any of the others she had passed that morning. It wouldn't be enough to stop the poison, but the light would hopefully give her enough strength to hold her foes back for a critical few seconds. Then the Arbok moved forward, menacing her children, and shock and fear ran through her system, adrenaline banishing her pain. Somehow she found the strength to limp the last few steps to the sunlight, and she rooted herself there, drawing strength from the sun and soil even as she prepared her next attack. "Come face _me,_ " Sara growled. Forming razor leaves again, she sent them spinning low over the heads of her children, catching the Arbok unprepared and forcing it back as several leaves cut into it. The Persian managed to dodge, though, and, ignoring her, moved in menacingly, hissing a challenge at the young Eevee even as the Arbok changed targets to come after her.

 _Another one._ The thought flashed through her mind, distracting her for a moment. _And this time I won't be able to dodge._ With her paws rooted in the ground, she had the strength to keep going, but it made her an easy target. That was part of her plan, though; hopefully the Pokémon threatening her family would come after her and leave her children. They _had_ to get away. As the thought crossed her mind, she shouted again to her children. "Go!"

For an agonizing moment, none of them moved. The Persian crouched there in front, taunting them. Then, mercifully, Tyler took charge. "Sasha, get away. Skylar, come on. Just like with Father yesterday." Skylar nodded, and the two moved into position to attack the Persian together as Sasha darted away into the bushes. Sending another, more carefully-aimed spray of leaves at the Arbok, Sara gained enough breathing room to see her two sons hit the Persian with perfect timing, bringing it down. _I'll bet it wasn't expecting that,_ Sara thought with a sudden flash of humor. She was grateful now for her mate's constant insistence that their children train to fight. Today had taught her that enemies really _could_ appear at any time.

As Tyler and Skylar disappeared out into the trees, the Persian made an undignified scramble back onto its paws and took off after them. Sara sighed. At least now they had a chance. Then the Arbok was on her, hissing malevolently and coiling to strike. With her leaves sharpened again to attack, Sara slashed at it, fending it off once, then twice, leaving two shallow cuts in its hood. The third time, though, the Arbok swayed back from her attack and then struck before she could cut at it again, sinking its fangs into her shoulder. As before, Sara turned and was able to strike a clean blow, cutting deeply and leaving her attacker flailing in pain, but this time her vision was already starting to dim as injury and poison ravaged her body. The last thing she saw was the Catcher stepping forward, a ball in her hand.

The last of Sara's strength finally left her, and she collapsed to the ground, barely feeling the impact. As darkness claimed her, Sara felt strangely at peace, her emotions draining away. Luke was gone, Kara was taken with Carson gone after her. But Skylar, Tyler, and Sasha had a fighting chance. It had all been worth it for that.


	3. Part 3

**_Concurrent with Tyler's Search, chapter 3: Lost and Alone_**

Sara slowly came back to consciousness. That was something of a surprise in itself. Too weak to move, Sara lay with her eyes closed, taking stock of what she could. She had been poisoned. Maybe more than once. Memories were slow to come. _Where… am I now?_ Sara took a slow breath, and as she did so she slid across the ground. Something had her hind leg and was dragging her somewhere. Trying to focus through the haze, she turned her attention to that leg. It felt like a pair of jaws were clamped around it, but Sara felt no pain, no teeth. Whatever was pulling her, it was being gentle.

Warmth spread across her body, and then sunlight unexpectedly flared through her closed eyelids. Sara flinched a little in surprise, barely moving in her weakened state. At about the same time, the jaws opened and her leg dropped to the ground. Sara just lay there. Sunlight… sunlight was good. Feebly, Sara spread her leaves, turning her ears and tail to catch the light, the small exertion causing her to pant. As minutes went by, her strength started to return, and she opened her eyes. The sunlight was the first thing she saw, and it took a little longer for her eyes to adjust. It came from a square – a hole, in a wall. The wall looked like the surface she lay on, hard and flat. Glancing down, she caught sight of Luke's familiar face, watching her anxiously. Emotion overwhelmed her, and she closed her eyes again.

It must have been her mate who had dragged her into the sunlight. Sara wasn't sure how she felt about that. On one hand, she was glad to have him here. On the other, that meant he must have been caught, like she undoubtedly had. If he was here, though, she must not be in a ball. Sara didn't think more than one Pokémon fit inside, although she wasn't certain. Still – Luke was here. A nose came down, pushing softly into her, and Sara leaned into the comforting touch. She was glad, she decided. Sara hadn't expected to ever see her mate again.

"Are you all right?" Luke whispered in her ear. "I've been so worried about you."

Sara nodded as well as she could. "It still hurts… but I think… I'm getting better now." Her mind was clearing now as the sunlight continued to lend her strength. Sara could still feel poison weakening her even as she soaked in light. _It's time to do something about that._ Sara lay back, focusing her energy. She drew more sunlight into her body, holding it and concentrating it instead of just letting it flow. Once she had enough, Sara let it all go at once. Her skin glowed briefly and a flash of heat warmed her all over. It hurt a little, but it also burned the rest of the poison out of her veins. Sara took a deep breath, exhaling in a sigh. "That's better," she said quietly.

"Was that…" Luke left the sentence unfinished, and she nodded.

"The poison is gone now. As long as I'm in the sun, I should be able to get up again in a while." Sara looked her mate in the eyes. "Thank you for taking care of me."

Luke looked back at her. "Of course." He looked surprised that she would even mention it. That was one of the things Sara loved about him. Now that she'd reassured him that she would be all right, he changed topics. "What about our children? Did they…" Again, he didn't finish. Sara understood.

"They took Kara," she recalled, a sob rising at the memory. She pressed on. "Carson went after her – he said it's something you would do." Luke closed his eyes at this; Sara knew her son had been right. "Tyler, Skylar and Sasha were all with me until more Catchers found us. I saw all three of them run into the forest again before they got me." Sara sighed. "I hope they're all right."

Luke pressed his nose into her fur again, but didn't say anything. He knew as well as she did that there was no answer for that question. Sara breathed in his comforting scent, looking her mate over as she did so for the first time since she'd regained consciousness. He was battered and bruised all over, with numerous cuts evident on his flank. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Are _you_ all right?" she asked him.

This drew a tired laugh from the Flareon. "I'll live. I told you I'd stop them from following you." There was pride in his voice, but then he shook his head. "I guess it wasn't enough, though."

"Three of our children got away into the forest," Sara reminded him. Remembering her last thought before unconsciousness claimed her, she added, "It was all worth it for that."

Luke nodded, then turned away, suppressing a sniff. Sara thought she knew what was going on. Her mate always had to show a strong face to the world, and her heart went out to him right then. After a moment of watching him, Sara looked around, inspecting her surroundings. The walls and floor were hard and gray. There was a hole placed high up, and one wall had openings in it she could see through. They wouldn't let anything out, though; the holes were barely wide enough to admit a paw. The whole place was clearly Catcher-made. Through the openings, Sara could see more of the same; hard floors and walls with strange lights at intervals that didn't look like sun. The space she was in was much larger than their den, and Sara could see they weren't alone; there were other forest Pokémon in the cell with them, most huddled against the walls. With a tinge of sadness, Sara recognized some of their neighbors from the forest. She and Luke were the only ones in the center, probably because he'd pulled her into the sun.

Outside their cell, Sara could see others a short distance away. There were Pokémon inside those ones too, though Sara couldn't make out any details. She stretched out with her other senses, searching for plant life. She could feel some, out through the hole where the sun was coming in, but it was distant. There was no hint of nature inside this sterile Catcher's den. It was at that moment that the reality of the situation hit her. She was trapped inside this… place. Probably forever. Maybe there was some way out, but Sara didn't think so. Pokémon taken by Catchers _never_ came back.

What would they do with her? With Luke? With Kara? The Catchers Sara had seen before seemed to bring Pokémon with them wherever they went, but these Catchers seemed different. Instead of being kept in balls, Sara and the other Pokémon they'd taken had simply been taken from the forest and deposited in this lifeless den. The Catchers must have some reason for it, but Sara didn't know what it was.

By this time, Luke had recovered. "Have you seen Kara or any of the others?" Sara asked, hoping that she could at least see her daughter. Luke shook his head.

"I haven't. Maybe she is here; I haven't looked much – you were the first one I found." He glanced around at the cells. "I don't see any young Pokémon here, though."

He was right. Their own cell was occupied by Pidgeotto, Furret, Raticate, an Azumarill, and several other species, but there weren't any young. _I hope Kara is somewhere close. Somewhere I can see her. And the others… I just hope they got away_.

After nearly an hour, Sara was finally feeling more like herself again. She'd moved twice to keep herself in the sunlight; Luke had helped her the first time, but she was able to manage on her own the second. Finally, Sara climbed to her paws, slowly stretching her legs while Luke anxiously hovered over her like a mother Pidgey. She was still weak, but well enough to walk now.

Now that she could, Sara moved to lay her head on Luke's shoulder, and he returned the gesture. Though she hadn't wanted him to be caught, Sara was glad she wasn't alone here. _I don't know if I could make it if I lost everyone_. Emotions warred inside her, sorrow for herself, Luke, and Kara, happiness that he was with her, mingled anxiety and hope for her other children, the ones who had still been free when she'd seen them.

"Sara," Luke breathed in her ear before pulling away, "what do we do now?"

That was a question she was still wondering about. Sara didn't think they'd be able to leave, so the only ones they could do anything for were the other residents of their cell. _I don't know anything about this place_ , Sara realized, and that gave her somewhere to start. "I want to see what's out there first," she decided. She went to the wall with the openings in it and looked out, straining to see all she could. Now that she was closer, Sara could make out more of the Pokémon in the other cells. There was a large variety of species there, though, as Luke had noted, all of them seemed to be mature as well. Many of them weren't from anywhere in the forest; these Catchers must be bringing Pokémon from all around. _Why_ was still the question. Though Sara couldn't see any young Pokémon, she still had to know, so she took a breath and called out. "Kara! Are you here?"

Her shout echoed uselessly through the den. No response came back, and she sighed, laying her ears back in disappointment. A few moments later, though, a measured tromp became audible. The rhythm was wrong for anything with four legs; it had to be a Catcher coming.

Confirming her fears, the Catcher came into view shortly after. Sara backed off from the opening, and Luke came to stand protectively beside her. She would have tried to hide, but there was nowhere in this cell. She still felt painfully exposed, with all of the other Pokémon crowded against the walls while she and her mate stood near the middle. The Catcher looked different than the ones who'd attacked… that morning? The day before? Sara realized she had no idea how long she'd been unconscious.

The Catcher didn't look like the ones who had passed through their forest on previous occasions, either. All of them had usually come in some kind of color, dark or bright, with arms and legs clearly evident. This Catcher was in something white that rippled around his body, concealing most of his form. There was something flat in one hand, and something small and pointed in the other. His gaze swept over the Pokémon huddled in the cell, then came to rest on Sara. Even as she drew back, Luke, still bruised and battered, stepped in front of her, growling, "Don't touch her."

The Catcher's eyes narrowed, and he looked Luke over for a long moment before muttering something and turning away, his tromping footsteps echoing long after he'd passed from view. Now that the immediate threat was gone, Luke relaxed and turned back. "We'll have to be careful. Catchers have come by a few times. They haven't done anything yet, but that can't last forever – they didn't bring us here for no reason."

Sara nodded, then voiced one of the questions that had occurred to her. "How long was I unconscious?"

"Over a day. I was so worried about you…" Luke sighed. "But I'm glad you're all right."

"Is there anything to eat? Or drink?" she asked.

"Over here," a powerful-looking Pidgeot broke in. Sara turned to the speaker, who was near the corner. Beside him, there was a large metal basin. When Sara approached, she saw it was full of water. "This seems to stay filled," the Pidgeot explained. "We don't have to worry about running out of water."

Sara nodded. "What about food?"

The Pidgeot motioned with a wing, indicating the ceiling. "A few times a day, part of the ceiling opens, and they drop some kind of food in. It's not very good, but…" he shrugged his wings. "It'll keep you alive."

"Thank you," Sara said. "What's your name?"

"I'm Harold," the Pidgeot responded. "My mate got away, but a couple of Crobat managed to surround me. What about you?"

"My name is Sara," she told him. "And this is my mate Luke. The Catchers attacked our family in the clearing."

"Your family?"

"We have five children. Three got away, I hope. I don't know what happened to any of them." Sara gritted her teeth against tears. "Excuse me," she added, more sharply than she'd intended. She stepped forward and lapped at the water in the basin, trying to bring her emotions back under control. She was glad the basin in the corner hid her face. Sara couldn't just rely on Luke to take care of everything anymore – she would have to start being strong, too. They were all at the mercy of the Catchers here.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Catchers never came into their cell, and though they occasionally passed by, they seemed to pay little attention to the trapped Pokémon unless they did something to attract it. As the sun set outside, the hole in the ceiling opened as Harold had said, and a stream of brown pellets fell through, bouncing across the floor. Sara sniffed one experimentally, then bit into it. It was hard, dry, and not very tasty, but, as the Pidgeot had said, it was food, and so she crunched them down until her hunger was sated.

After that, Sara picked her way around their cell, intent on meeting the rest of the Pokémon with them. As she had noted before, they were all forest Pokémon from their area, and she found that she knew several by name. Maybe it should have been comforting, but all she could feel was sadness that they had ended up here. That any of them had.

When night fell, things got dimmer, but darkness never truly fell inside. The corridor outside still had some light in it from some unseen source. Luke curled himself around her protectively; around them, those Pokémon who had been fortunate – or unfortunate – enough to end up here with their mates were doing the same. They were all crowded around the walls, away from the entrance and the vulnerability of the open floor. Between the unnatural brightness and her own anxiety, Sara only slept fitfully.

Morning was indicated by a gradual brightening from outside. As usual, Luke woke before she did; he was staring off into space when she opened her eyes. Sensing she was awake, the Flareon turned to her. "I've been thinking," he murmured. "They must have put us in here through that thing." He indicated the grated entrance. "If they want to get us out, it'll have to be the same way. That could be our chance. Not just for us, but all of the Pokémon here. I know the Catchers have Pokémon, but there are a lot of us – they couldn't stop us all." _They_ ** _caught_** _us all,_ Sara thought in a moment of pessimism. She didn't say anything, though, merely nodding with her head leaned into his mane. It probably was their best chance.

More pellets of food came rattling in. While they all ate, Luke moved around the cell, circulating his plan. Sara knew that some would be too afraid, enough would have the strength and determination to follow through with her mate. Sara would be there too. _They didn't bring us here just to leave us. They have to come some time_.

As Luke had predicted, the white-covered Catcher returned a little later. His eyes swept the cell until the fell on the Flareon. There was a minute shifting among the Pokémon as they all tensed to act, and then the Catcher pulled a ball out of his coat. A ripple of confusion spread through the cell – what was he doing? – and then he pointed it into the cell. In a flash of energy, Luke vanished inside. Sara's heart stopped. _No, no, no!_ Shock rooted her to the spot, and all she could do was stand there, frozen in horror. The Catcher turned and left again, and Sara's mind slowly ground back into motion again. How was that possible? The ball hadn't touched him. He should have broken out of it. _Something_ should have been different. Then, the awful truth stuck her. _It's the same as the Pokémon Catchers bring with them. They just send them out and bring them back whenever they want. That means…_ Sara's heart sank. _They own us now. There isn't anything we can do._ Sara lowered herself to the floor, burying her face in her paws and wrapping her leafy tail around to cover her head. Never in her life had the Leafeon felt so completely helpless. All she could do was wait – and hope the Catchers brought her mate back.

It could have been an eternity later when they finally did. Sara hadn't moved in the whole time, and fear for her mate had been the only thing on her mind. The Catcher pulled out two balls; with one flash, a Pikachu disappeared, and then the second ball opened and Luke appeared once more in the cell. The Catcher walked away again. Sara's mate looked around and saw her, taking a few weary steps in her direction, and she rushed to him, inserting her head and shoulders under his foreleg to take some of his weight. "Lean on me," she soothed. She helped him across to the water basin in the corner and waited while he drank. _What will we do now?_

Once Luke had finished and settled down, she asked, "What happened? What did they do?"

Her mate thought back for a moment. "Well, they put me in the ball… I mean, I was in one once, for a few seconds, but I broke out. I just couldn't break this one, though. I don't know why, but nothing I did worked." Sara shivered a little. She hadn't ever been inside a Catcher's ball… except now – but she'd been unconscious and had no memory of what it had been like. Luke continued. "After a few minutes, they let me out. I was in some kind of box; I could see more Catchers through the top, but I couldn't get to them because there was something clear in the way. It smelled like there had been Pokémon in there before – lots of them, all kinds. The floor started moving, so I had to walk or get pushed into the wall. Once I did, it started getting faster." The Flareon bared his teeth. "They just… kept watching me. Once it got so fast I couldn't keep up, they slowed it down a little, but then they just kept it going until I couldn't run anymore. Then they stopped it and used the ball again… I didn't even care then. When I came out, it was in a cell like this one, but little. There was water and food… then they put me back in the box and made me run again. I don't even know _why_." Luke sighed. "It's almost like they think we're the same as the old animals. That we can't think, or feel. Or maybe they're the ones who can't feel." The Flareon shook his head. "Anyway… after that, they put me in the ball again, and then they brought me back here."

A crowd had gathered as Luke told his story. "So do you think that's how they got us all in here?" a Furret asked.

"I don't know," Luke replied wearily. "I don't remember anything except waking up here. It makes sense, though… It'll be a lot harder to get out if that thing doesn't open."

"You're still going to try?" a Raichu asked.

Another weary nod. "This isn't a life here. There's got to be a way out."

A murmur of approval spread through the surrounding Pokémon. Sara felt ashamed for having given up earlier; even after being pushed to his limits at the hands of Catchers, Luke was still determined. He looked around at them all, then ignored them and turned his attention to Sara, who still sat next to him. The Pokémon started to disperse.

"I wish I was like you," she admitted to her mate. "Maybe if I'd been stronger, I could have protected our children."

"I'm glad you're not." Luke whispered the words, so only she could hear. The statement took her by surprise, and she turned to look at him clearly. "You taught them the right reasons for things. You made our home a good one. Fighting isn't everything, no matter what Catchers think." He laughed. "No matter what _I_ think sometimes, either. You make everything worth it for me."

Sara leaned into his warm, soft mane again. "I'm glad," she whispered. "Not that you're in here, but that you're with me."

She closed her eyes, but she could still feel Luke's nod. "I'm glad too. Whatever happens… We'll get through it. Together."


	4. Part 4

_Sara's Story is a side story for Tyler's Search following his leafeon mother. This part is concurrent with Tyler's Search chapter 5._

* * *

A few days later they came for Sara. She could see it in the white-cloaked Catcher's eyes, the way they searched for her as soon as he came into view. It was a moment the leafeon had been dreading, and she winced in anticipation as the Catcher pointed his—Sara's—red-and-white ball at her.

It didn't hurt; there was a flash of white, a strange rushing feeling, and then she found herself—outside. In a forest. She looked around, unable to believe it for a moment. _Is this a ball?_ Sara stretched out with her senses. What she found dashed her hopes again. None of it was real. The trees, the grass…none of it had any life. There should have been roots worming through the soil, the slow pulse of water ascending through the trunks and the quiet breathing of air through the leaves. She should have been cocooned in the sense of the grass covering the ground, but this ball offered no such comfort. When she breathed in, she just felt alone.

Sara spread her leaves to the sunlight, but it wasn't the same either. It felt a little like a sun should, but the light was a trickle compared to what she was used to. For all the scenery the ball offered, Sara could still tell it was hollow. She was no more free here than she had been in the cell.

As that realization settled in, it was joined by nervousness. All the pokémon who'd been taken came back with stories of how hard they'd been pushed while the Catchers watched them. Whatever was in store for her, Sara didn't think she'd enjoy it. As the minutes stretched on, the leafeon started pacing a small circle, wishing Luke was with her, that she wasn't so alone.

The ball started pulsing red, making her jump. _What's going on now?_ Sara started breathing faster and her pulse sped up. She tried to calm herself for a moment, then stopped. _Whatever's coming, I want to be ready._ She kept glancing around, watching for any movement. Still nothing.

The light enveloped her again. When it faded this time, she was in a different cell. This one was even smaller; she could comfortably stretch out her head and tail, but that was all. The walls around her were white, but the floor was black. Above her there was a clear cover she could see the Catchers through, just like Luke had described. The walls and cover were scuffed and scratched, and Sara could almost feel the fear of the pokémon who'd been put in here before her. _Trapped_. That was what the whole thing screamed to her. She turned halfway around and the floor twitched beneath her. Sara jumped, heart thumping wildly.

The twitch turned into a slow slide that carried her inexorably toward the wall. Sara stumbled sideways, but it started getting faster, forcing her to turn and start walking away from it. As she started to progress toward the other wall, the floor started to speed up with a droning whir, forcing her to move faster and faster just to stay where she was. She managed a glance up; one of the Catchers was watching her, but the other seemed intent on something off to one side. The speed increased again and she almost fell. Sara had to drop her gaze and focus on moving forward.

The speed continued its inexorable increase until she was in a flat-out sprint, paws flashing forward and back as she curled and stretched for the next bit of floor, over and over again. In a few moments she was panting for breath, but Sara gave the wall a glare and kept running. She wouldn't give the Catchers the satisfaction of seeing her give up.

Despite all the effort she made, Sara started losing ground as the floor started whirring faster than she could run. Her tailtip touched the wall…then more of her tail pushed up against it…then suddenly, mercifully, the scorching pace slowed and let Sara pull forward again. She didn't want to think about what might happen if she fell.

When she'd regained the middle of the cell, the floor sped up again slightly, keeping her where she was and forcing her to continue her full-speed sprint. There was no chance to look up, or do anything except try to keep off that wall, and soon Sara's lungs were burning. She started to flag and felt the wall touch her tail again.

Instead of slowing down, the floor jerked faster. She tried to match the speed for a moment but couldn't, and the floor slammed her painfully against the wall. Her paws scuffed against it for a moment, then it stopped. Sara picked herself up with a baleful glare at the Catchers outside, just in time for the movement to start up again. The Catchers kept her at a walk this time, just slow enough to catch her breath, and then it started to speed up again. Sara could tell she still didn't have her full strength, but this time the floor didn't go quite as fast. It still took almost everything she had to keep up, but it didn't seem like the Catchers wanted to _hurt_ her. They wanted her to run.

At one point she defiantly slowed down, refusing to keep up with the moving floor even as it bumped her against the wall again. It stopped. Then it rushed her forward, sending her hurtling facefirst into the other wall. The leafeon barely managed to turn in time to keep from being hit in the head. The floor resumed its normal pace again; defeated, Sara matched it, ears flat against her head and neck and tears streaming down her face. _There's nothing I can do. If I stop, they'll just hurt me. They don't care_.

As Luke had described, the trial went on and on. The moving floor slowed over time, letting her keep up but always pushing her as fast as she could go. The leafeon's breathing went from labored to pained, each breath tearing at her throat as her muscles screamed. And yet it kept going, even as Sara's paws started to go numb from the constant pounding.

Finally she came to a stop, panting with her legs spread and her head down. The floor jerked back again and she lost her balance, collapsing on the ground. It reversed again and pushed her into the other wall; Sara grunted at the impact, but she couldn't get up. The floor slid her away from the wall again…and finally stopped, the whine dying away. Sara lay in the silence for a few moments, just trying to breathe. There was a _creak_ and she looked up to see the top opening. A hand with a ball reached through and put her inside again.

This time Sara welcomed the aloneness. At least nothing was happening to her inside the ball. She didn't try to get up but she did spread her leaves, trying to take any strength she could from the false sunlight.

After all too short a time the red flashes came again and Sara was deposited on a flat surface somewhere above the ground. One of the white Catchers—a female this time—was right next to her, far too close, closer than the leafeon had ever been to one of them. The Catcher's hands reached for her; Sara tried to snap at her, but all she managed was a weak jerk of her head. Moving hurt. Everything hurt. As she lay helplessly on her side the Catcher proceeded to feel her all over; Sara set her jaw against the discomfort as she poked and prodded her and squeezed the sore muscles of her legs, stomach, and back. When the Catcher got to her leaves, Sara sharpened them and was rewarded with a blow to the head, making her cry out. After that she let herself go limp while the Catcher finished her examination, peering at her paws and into her ears. At one point the Catcher gathered up all four of her paws and flipped Sara over onto her other side to run her fingers through the fur on the leafeon's other flank. Too exhausted to move, all Sara could do was protest weakly.

She pulled something over Sara next, a black-and-white object that emitted strange lights and humming noises. Sara just lay there, tears starting to leak from her eyes again. She looked up into the Catcher's face, but there was no pity there, no recognition. _She doesn't even see me as a living thing. I don't matter to her. So why? Why do this?_

After a while Sara ended up in the ball again. Her thoughts went elsewhere now. _I hope my children got away. Even Carson going after Kara. I hope he found…_ _ **some**_ _way to save her. None of them should ever have to go through this._ She closed her eyes. Tyler, Skylar and Sasha had all gotten away, at least from the clearing where she'd gone down. They had to have made it. Even though she knew all the odds had been stacked against them, Sara clung to that hope.

The light came again and left her in a small cell. This one resembled the other one Luke had described, and Sara imagined she could make out his scent among the mixed smells of all the pokémon who'd been here before. It comforted her somehow, even though there was no real reason for it. The cell had water and food—real berries this time, not the dry stuff she'd become accustomed to—and the leafeon sighed as she realized she'd been given a reprieve. She pulled herself over and tried to lap at the water, but keeping her head upright was hard. After a moment she gave up and put a paw into the water, soaking it up like it was damp soil. She turned to the berries next and pulled one close so she could take a bite out of it. It was a kind the leafeon knew, though smaller than she was used to. That didn't matter, though. It was food, and for now that was enough. She chewed and swallowed, every motion deliberate. Sara wasn't going to lay down and die if she could avoid it.

The pain slowly faded to a dull ache, and after a while Sara managed to stand and even walk around a little in the small cell, despite the protest from her weary legs. _If only there was sun in here_ …She sighed and picked her way across the cell again, stretching her legs and hoping the soreness wouldn't set in any worse.

The Catchers came again with the ball, and Sara soon found herself in the cell with the moving floor. This time she was only able to keep up a slow walk, stumbling a little as she pushed to keep up with the floor. There was no punishment this time when she couldn't keep up; once she was against the wall the Catchers stopped the floor and returned her to the ball again.

The sun in the ball was sinking toward the horizon. Sara just watched it dully until the sky went red again and the Catcher let her out. This time, thankfully, she was back in the large cell with the other pokémon.

"Are you all right?" Luke rushed to her side. Sara gave him a tired nod, leaning across the mass of soft fur on his shoulders with a relieved sigh. "Come here." Luke led her across to the other side of the cell, where there was a space between an azumarill and a graveler. "You look exhausted." Sara picked up the ache in Luke's voice as she lowered herself to the ground, laying with her back against her mate's warm flank.

"I'll be all right," she reassured him tiredly. "It was like you said—they made me run."

"You were gone for a long time. I was worried."

At the mention of the time, Sara looked instinctively across to the hole in the cell wall, hoping to see sunlight there, but it was too late. Only a little light filtered through, and it wasn't direct. She sighed again, wishing she could take it in and get some of her strength back.

The Catcher lights dimmed a little while later. Before she let herself fall asleep, Sara went to the water basin and drank. Luke was never more than a step away from her, watching in case she fell. "You don't have to do that," she chided gently.

Luke gave her a blank stare. "Yes, I do." He closed the distance and gave her a lick behind her ear. "There's not much I can do, but I'm going to do everything I can, all right?"

Sara didn't protest any further. In truth, she didn't want to. As hard as life might be now that the Catchers had them, she couldn't imagine having to endure it without Luke. "I love you," she whispered as they lay down again. It wasn't something the leafeon said much. She didn't usually feel like she needed to, but sometimes Luke's dedication caught her off guard, even when she was expecting it. _Even when there's nothing he can do, somehow he still does all of it_.

It took a few days before Sara felt like herself again. Pokemon kept being taken for the day, kept coming back exhausted and sometimes bruised. They would occasionally take Sara and Luke too; the tests—that was what they had to be—were always different. Sometimes it would be running, sometimes dodging swinging objects, sometimes swimming, sometimes trying to maneuver with an unnatural wind whipping dust all around her. Each time though, one thing stayed the same: There would be a Catcher watching, staring down at her from some higher spot and glancing down at a rectangle they held to scratch at it. What kept Sara going was a mixture of determination, comfort from her mate, and mingled hope and fear for her children—hope that they were all right, fear that they were out in some unknown place being put through this same torturous experience. Sometimes Sara felt like she might snap and attack the Catchers, but they were always out of reach of anything she could do. Other pokémon had tried anyway, she knew, but it had gone badly for them.

Then there came a day when the Catchers didn't come. Confusion and speculation swirled around their large cell; they dreaded every time a Catcher walked by, but none of the humans paid any attention to the captured pokémon, going to other cells or some unknown business instead. The leafeon and her mate decided to just take the reprieve for what it was and gather their strength. Living in a bare, stony cell had taken its toll on Sara, leaving rough calluses on her paws and leaving her somewhat depressed, but as Luke said, they couldn't give up. _We'll get through it. Together_. Sara couldn't count the number of times she'd murmured those words into his ear too, when he came back exhausted from one test or another.

But all that day, there was no attention paid to them except for the food, which came rattling through the ceiling like it normally did, always at the same times each day. They were left alone the next day too, and Sara almost wondered if they had been forgotten. Then it happened: that evening, the last Catcher to come through stopped and looked directly at them for a few seconds, his gaze sweeping over the huddled pokémon before he turned away and moved on. Sara barely slept that night, instead staring restlessly up at the tiny patch of stars visible through the high window. Sometime in the early morning, she snuggled her head into Luke's thick mane and fell asleep listening to the slow rise and fall of his breath.

The Catchers showed up early that morning after they'd eaten. There were several of them, and they started taking pokémon immediately, fingers of white light lancing into the cell to take one after another. Sara's heart started thumping faster as the cell started to empty, until a ball took her. The last thing she saw in the cell was Luke's fearful stare as she met his eyes.

Sara was used to the ball by now, and the silence almost reassured her. Almost. Anything new was something to fear, because it meant the Catchers had something else in mind. All the leafeon could do now was wait and hope it wouldn't be too painful. _Why are they taking all of us, though? Do they plan to make us fight?_ Sara had seen too many pokémon used by Catchers. Mostly to attack wild pokémon, but once or twice she'd been in the area when two Catchers and their pokémon faced off against each other. She'd privately feared when she'd been captured that that would be her fate, but it had receded in the face of the lonely, seemingly endless testing. Now it came back again. Sara didn't want to fight. She especially didn't want to fight pokémon who had no choice—or worse yet, be used as a tool to capture more of her wild cousins. _I won't do that. I don't care what they do to me, I won't be part of ripping more families apart_.

What if they had to fight each other, though? Catchers seemed to do that a lot too. An image swam into her mind of being released from her ball opposite Luke, and she shook it away. He was immediately replaced by Sasha, and Sara closed her eyes. She couldn't stand that. _I wouldn't fight…but if I tried to do anything else, they'd take me away from my daughter again. I know they would_. Would she attack her children, at least a little, just for the chance to speak to them, to hear their voices again? _I…I don't know anymore_. A pang of loneliness hit her as she thought about the five missing eevee. Not knowing where or how they were was the worst part, because it meant her imagination could have free rein. Sara could tell the images _no_ , but she didn't know if she meant it. Luke knew; every time she got like this the leafeon would be surprised by a comforting lick. She could tell when he was thinking about their children too. Those were the times when the flareon's expression would harden and he'd start talking again about finding a way out of their cell.

There weren't any. None that they'd been able to find or make in over two moons, as far as Sara could estimate time when she only saw it once in a while. The rock was strong, and there weren't any pokémon in their cell who could do anything to it. The grate had been the same. It had to open like Luke had said, because occasionally they would be put in balls in the evening and find the cell clean, but they'd never actually seen it happen.

Sara's mind came back to the present. This was different. They'd never all been taken like this during the day, and she knew instinctively that this wasn't to clean their cell. Not knowing what it _was_ was still the worst.

Time passed without anything happening. Nothing changed in the ball except that the sun kept getting higher, so Sara waited in the silence. Eventually the ball lit up with red flashes. Sara took a deep breath as white enveloped her.

It was the sound that hit her first, the almost forgotten mix of noises that meant outside. Her eyes confirmed that she wasn't imagining it. There were Catchers around, but she was surrounded by sun and trees and wind too. Sara gasped, and the gasp brought smells: trees, and stone, and grass, and Catchers—but Sara ignored their smells for now. Caught up in the moment, a voice in her head whispered, _Run!_

This might be her only chance. Without pausing to think, the leafeon broke into a sprint, paws pounding across uneven stone, her muscles trained and strengthened by the Catchers' forced testing. There were exclamations of surprise from the Catchers around her, and Sara knew it would buy her a few seconds before they came after her. She had a chance.

Then the ball sucked her back in. By the time the false forest had formed around her, Sara was already slowing to a walk, shaking her head. It had been too good to be true. _I should have known_. With barely a pause, the ball flashed once and she was released again, in the same spot as before. Breathing hard, she looked around this time, taking in the scene around her.

As she'd noticed before, she was outside, in some kind of Catcher place. There were trees and forest out ahead—so tantalizingly close, but still forever away. She was surrounded by Catcher dens and their stone paths, though there were patches of grass and even flowers here and there. Sara turned around to see the white-clothed Catcher behind her, watching her with the ball still pointed warningly at her. He was closer than ever too…Attack crossed Sara's mind, but with that ball ready she couldn't do anything. After a moment, the Catcher shifted his gaze upward a little, though the ball didn't move. He was saying something in their language, addressing himself to another Catcher who stood on the other side. Sara could understand a little of the Catchers' talk by now, but there was too much, too fast for her to make anything out. This Catcher was much younger-looking, with dark unkempt hair. He looked somehow friendlier than the ones she was used to. The Catchers conversed back and forth for a minute, with the new one glancing down at her frequently. Then the conversation paused and the young Catcher slowly dropped to his haunches in front of her. Sara made out other balls around his waist as he did. He spoke softly, "Hey there," and reached out for her. The leafeon instinctively shied away from his touch, watching him warily. The Catcher's face fell and he withdrew his hand, standing up again. There was another short conversation and then Sara found herself inside the ball again.

The scene repeated itself several more times that day with different Catchers. A few times Sara saw other pokémon from her cell off to the sides. Never Luke though. As the sun dipped lower in the sky until the next time Sara was released, it was back into the cell with the others.

She waited anxiously as the Catchers continued releasing pokémon into the cell until one ball discharged her mate. Before she could approach, he caught her eye and ran to her, looking her up and down.

"You're all right. Thank Arceus, you're all right."

Sara nodded absently into his mane. "I'm fine. What about you?"

The flareon shrugged. "They didn't do anything today except show me to other Catchers."

"Me, too. Any idea why?"

"I don't know for sure, but…I got this feeling, once or twice, that they might want to take me away."

"That wouldn't be so bad," Sara murmured. "Anything would be better than here, right?" She started second-guessing her words as soon as they left her mouth. Other Catchers might not treat them this way, but they would probably expect them to fight. Luke could do that, but not her—she still didn't want to. And what about when it came to catching other pokémon?

"I don't want to go," Luke whispered. Sara caught a flash of fear in his voice, which surprised her. "It's what I've worried about this whole time—that one day things will change, and then I'll never see you again either." The flareon exhaled—a long, shaky sigh. "The truth is…if I didn't know you'd be here waiting for me, I don't know how I'd get through the days here. I need you, Sara."

The leafeon blinked her green eyes. Luke never opened up like this. He never admitted what he was afraid of, almost like he worried it would find a way to break him if he said it out loud. _If he's saying this now…he must have been out of his mind all day worrying about it. Maybe longer_. "I know what you mean," she began. "But…I don't have room to worry about me. Remember I'm not the only one you need to be strong for. Our children are out there somewhere. If we ever get separated, you can't give up. You have to go on for them. Break out. Find them." Sara knew she was rambling. _I don't really know what to do, but he can't give up. I know that much_.

"There isn't any way out of here." The flareon's eyes were fixed on the floor.

Sara took a breath. "Maybe not here. But they take us out all the time. We were outside today. Outside in the sun, for the first time in moons. Things change. And you have to accept that, Luke. Maybe we'll…" Sara broke off and gathered herself again before continuing. "Maybe we'll get separated." _There. I said it_. "But that isn't the end. It _can't_ be." Tears leaking from her eyes, Sara put a paw on Luke's orange shoulder, and he looked up at her again. "I was wrong before. The Catchers may have us, but they _don't_ own us. Not unless we let them. They don't deserve you, Luke."

The flareon started to cry a little too. "They don't deserve you either, Sara. You don't know how many times…I've wanted to give up." _Yes, I do. It breaks my heart every time I watch you go through that._ "You've kept me going in this…place. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I hope you never have to find out," Sara told him. "But I'll always love you, no matter where you are. I mated with a flareon who said he'd never stop fighting to keep his family safe." She paused. "Don't."

The leafeon dreamed of her children that night, watching her three youngest run away from the Catchers into the deep forest. In her dream, though, her mind followed them and watched them grow bigger and stronger. Sometimes she saw them in a Catcher's ball, but at other moments she saw them free, becoming the eons they were born to be. She hoped with all her heart that it was real.


End file.
